About Rugby: Tackle this hall of fame

Josh Lewsey's tackle on Jean de Villiers on Saturday is already part of folklore, or so it seems, and has definitely prompted much subsequent debate as to comparable last-ditch efforts.

After much deliberation this column offers you another four to join Lewsey in an all-time international top five try-savers.

1. Peter Stringer – on Dan Luger for Ireland against England at Lansdowne Road in October 2001. The flying wing looked clean through but somehow the 5ft 7in Stringer chased and stretched out to just flick Luger's back foot. England lost 20-14 and were thus denied a Grand Slam.

2. JPR Williams – on Jean-Francois Gourdon for Wales against France at the Arms Park in 1976. The powerful French wing was bearing down on the line when JPR emerged from nowhere to send him hurtling into touch. His "shoulder charge" would probably result in a penalty try and yellow card now, but what a moment!

3. John Eales – on Rob Andrew in the 1991 World Cup final. Right at the death, and trailing 12-6, England broke in midfield and Andrew seemed clear but the youthful Eales showed a remarkable turn of speed for a lock to close him down.

4. Japie Mulder – on Jonah Lomu for South Africa in the 1995 World Cup final. Only once did big Jonah really threaten that day, down the left flank, but Mulder went low and very hard to send the man mountain crashing down. The crowd roared and the Boks never looked back.

Dignified Peters bore no grudge

James "Darkie" Peters may, shamefully, have been denied his place in the England side against South Africa on racial grounds 100 years ago but England's first coloured international nonetheless struck up a lifelong friendship with the man who replaced him.

Cornwall's Richard Jago was introduced in Peters' place to avoid a possible walk-out by the South Africans but, in later life, the two men used to meet every week at Jago's home in Plymouth to play a highly competitive game of chess.

"I know because grandad used to drag me along," writes Peters's granddaughter Barbara Dunbar, who still lives in Plymouth. "He was a lovely man, very dignified and much preferred being called 'Darkie' by his friends than James. Of course it had no racial overtones then and political correctness didn't exist.

"I have to own up to mistakenly throwing out his England jersey when I helped my mother move house, but I have given his England caps to Plymouth Albion. At one stage Albion named their beer tent after him which always made me chuckle, because he was teetotal all his life."

Hain to toast founder

Peter Hain, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, may have spent much of his student youth disrupting the Springboks tour of Britain in 1970 – and thank the Lord he did Sir – but he has always been a huge rugby fan and gets a chance to demonstrate that tomorrow night when he proposes the toast to William Webb Ellis at a dinner in Cardiff to commemorate the 200th birthday of the game's founder.

Hain has been asked to sum up the very essence of rugby – explaining the Northern Ireland problem might be easier – but the loquacious Hain, South African-reared but of Neath stock, should be good value.

It remains to be seen, however, whether he tackles the tricky subject of exactly who did invent rugby.

Webb Ellis usually gets the credit but the Irish point to an ancient game from their country called caid, that Webb Ellis might have watched when his father was stationed in Ireland with the Dragoons. Others believe the ancient Roman game of harpastum, thought by some to have originated in the Far East, was uncannily like rugby as we now recognise it.

Spreading the Heineken gospel

Bourgoin's participation in the Heineken Cup thus far has been undistinguished to say the least – they once cynically sent a second team to Leinster for a pool match and shipped over 90 points – but the French side still know a good pay day when they see one. Hence their decision to take their round five pool game against reigning champions Munster in January across the border to Geneva in Switzerland and the city's 30,000-capacity football stadium.

Switzerland thus becomes the ninth European nation to host a Heineken Cup match, joining Romania and Spain from outside the Six Nations countries who have sides participating in the tournament.

The Swiss are a small but enthusiastic Union whose team are ranked 48th in the world – ahead of China, the Cook Islands and Zimbabwe – and they fully intend to use this game to showcase the sport.